Greater Vancouver Housing Market Steady in May

Tuesday June 7, 2011

VANCOUVER, B.C. – June 2, 2011 – Home sales remained stready this May on the Multiple Listing Service﻿&reg; (MLS&reg;) in Greater Vancouver. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties reached 3,377 in May 2011, a 7 % increase compared to the 3,156 sales in May 2010. New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,931 in May 2011. This represents a 15.4 % decrease compared to May 2010, when only 7,014 properties were listed for sale on the MLS&reg;. This year had the second highest total for May on record.

Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver president Rosario Setticasi said “We’re seeing more activity at the high end of our market this year than we did one year ago. This is causing today’s average prices in the region to be less reflective of the total activity occurring in the marketplace. The Housing Price Index benchmark prices are more accurate, reliable indicators of housing prices compared to averages.” Link to Vancouver Housing Price Index Page

Of all the resisdential properties sold on the MLS&reg; in 2011 to date, 21 % sold for $1 million or higher, and 20% sold for $350,000 or lower. While 77 % of the properties that sold for over $1 million were in West Vancouver, Vancouver West or Richmond, the properties that sold for $350,000 or lower were located throughout the entire Board area.